


Tiberius Finds a Ring

by GaeaCa



Category: Critical Role, Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-04-03 11:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4099513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaeaCa/pseuds/GaeaCa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A non-canon short story about Tiberious Stormwind from Critical Role on Geek and Sundry Twitch Thursdays 7-10 PST.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tiberius Finds a Ring

The bored shopkeeper glanced upward as a tall shape entered the doorway of his dingy establishment. A red dragonborn stepped inside and brushed the disturbed dust off his dishevelled green sorcerer's robes, closing the door behind him. He squinted around the room through the spectacles perched on his nose. 

“Hm. Yes. Curious curious indeed.”, he chortled to himself.

The sorcerer gradually wove his way through the clutter toward the front counter, pausing to look at a statuette of a suspiciously well-endowed faerie; his tail knocking a few parchments off the shelves in the process. Nearing the back of the shop, he tripped - just barely catching himself on the countertop. He cleared his throat a couple of times and spoke "Pardon me, good sir; my research has lead me to believe that you are the current holder of a powerful ring which might aid me in my spellcasting." The dragonborn gave a tentative although disturbingly toothy smile.

Kellam Gerome had seen this type before. Pompous, clumsy magic users who spend all day with their noses in books and rarely interacted with other beings. They were usually quite naive and were uncomfortable in social situations. “This one should be easy to fool, especially if I play to his vanity...” he thought. 

"I am sorry noble sir" he said, bowing slightly. "Although it pains me to disappoint you, I am afraid I carry very little in terms of magical items and probably have nothing that would interest a powerful sorcerer such as yourself." He smiled a wide gap toothed grin which he hoped looked friendly.

Tiberius Stormwind had been tracing the ring for several days while on a break from his grand adventures with Vox Machina. He had spent so much time in the last week digging through old tomes in various out-of-the-way libraries that he now had developed a slight cough from all the dust, mold, and spiderwebs. He was absolutely certain that somewhere in this chaotic mess of a shop rested the magical ring he was seeking. A ring which would hold extra spells for casting.

"I have followed the trail here.”, he rumbled, a steely edge rising in his voice. “I know your employer stole the ring from the Earl of Ninetowns. He knew nothing of it's significance and she killed the him in the process. Just tell me where it is and I will leave you in peace". .

"I swear I have no special magical items!" hissed the shopkeeper as he stood behind his chipped wooden countertop. He shuffled from foot to foot nervously.

"Poppycock!” Roared Tiberius, glaring at the wizened halfling with the full power of his red dragonborn stare.

The shopkeeper drew himself up to his full four-and-a-half foot height. "Fine - search the place. You won't find anything because there is nothing to find." He then dropped himself down on a wooden stool and began to smoke a pipe, trying to ignore the menacing figure leaning over the counter still glaring.

Tiberius glanced around the grubby one room store full of untold amounts of what was mostly junk, with a few actual valuables tucked into the corners. He decided to take the halfling up on his offer. As was his way, he began his search in a methodical fashion: starting to the right of the entry door with its rusty hinges and peeling paint. He gradually made his way around the area, moving from one piled shelf to another; the sunlight streaming through the dingy windows shifted with the passage of time. Between the shelves labelled “gnomish mechanisms” and “war memorabilia”, Tiberius noticed two of the shelves had special markings of some kind, a combination of reversed numbers and letters. As he passed a grungy mirror between two shelves he wondered if perhaps the ring had moved on from this hidey hole, but he doubted it. Certainly, most of the items here were worthless and useless: dirty adventuring packs, frayed rope coils, empty potion vials and the like.

"Think Tiberius, think!” The idiotic merchant obviously thought he would never find the ring so it had to be well hidden. In his head, Tiberius went over all of the documents and information he had studied on his quest for the ring again and again, trying to conjure up any clues to how and where the ring could kept from prying eyes. He knew the crime boss was clever and liked to tinker, but she was not actually a magic user.

"Tell me where it is you foolish little man!” Spat Tiberius as he spat a little dragonfire threateningly approaching the counter edge from the side. Kellam rose suddenly but Tiberius caught his arm before he could lift the wand from under the counter. Squeezing his wrist until he was forced to drop it, Tiberius kicked the wand away, far out of reach. Twisting the halfling's arm behind his back he once more demanded “Show me the ring!” The halfling grunted in pain and said nothing, but his eyes darted briefly across the shop and then back to the floor.

Shoving the reluctant criminal to his knees and picking up the wand as he went by, Tiberius strode over in the direction of the where the merchant had looked. He found himself facing the dirt streaked mirror once more. He realized the filth on the mirror had actually been applied rather than being the patina of time and neglect. He smirked to himself and spoke "Prestidigitation!" The mirror was suddenly shiny, and a graven letter and two numbers became visible from under the grime. Peering into the mirror, the two strange carvings on the shelves behind him come into focus. Stepping back he was able to see the completed code. "L45' on the left shelf, "R68" on the mirror, and "L15" on the right shelf. Suddenly he swung his staff straight at the mirror, shattering it with a mighty crack into hundreds of tiny pieces. 

Kellam moaned and cowered behind his counter shaking, knowing he would pay for this with his employer later, but at the moment he was much more terrified of the angry dragonborn sorcerer.

Behind the mirror was a strange metal square with a dial on the front of it. Tiberius did not sense any magic emanating from it. He had heard tell of Gnomish Clockboxes, but had never actually set eyes one before. Suddenly he nodded to himself and grinned. Carefully he turned the dial to the left until it reached the number 45, then he turned it right towards the number 68, and finally to the left to number 15. There was a loud click, and the door of the metal box sprung open to reveal a small blue bag with a golden drawstring. As he picked it up he could feel the magic emanating lightly from the ring inside. The sorcerer pulled his new treasure from the the bag; a ring which can hold an extra spell would be very useful on his adventures he thought, pleased with the discovery.

As he stepped through the shop the mirrored glass crunching underfoot, with the magical ring clutched in his right claw, his face split open with a huge frightenly toothy smile. He opened the door, and just before he walked away he growled back at the shopkeeper:

"Next time you shall not underestimate Tiberius Stormwind!"


End file.
